Dancing In The Moonlight
by Brockster550
Summary: A brief one-shot of an AU Yule Ball, where Harry crosses paths with Luna Lovegood. He decides to help make her night one of her best when he finds out that she had been stood up. No copyright intended!


_Disclaimer: J.K. Rowlings own the Harry Potter universe, I just own this fanfic. No copyright intended!_

 _ **Summary: After enduring Ron and Hermione's bickering over the latter going to the Yule Ball with Viktor, Harry heads outside to clear his mind. In the process, Harry meets Luna (who was stood up by her date). After taking the time to get to know each other, Harry and Luna find that they enjoy each other's company. Harry decides to give Luna a night to remember upon finding out that she was stood up.**_

 **Author's note: A Harry/Luna one-shot. This one-shot will start shortly after the Champions' dance at the Yule Ball. Implied Ron bashing. Rated T.**

 **Dancing In The Moonlight**

 **Fanfic by Brockster550**

Harry Potter wasn't having all that great a time at the Yule Ball. He didn't understand girls and it irritated his date, Parvati Patil. She was his date and they danced for the champions' dance (as per tradition for the champions of the Triwizard Tournament). Harry wanted to go with Cho, but she had already accepted Cedric Diggory's invitation to be his date. What made the night far more worse for Harry was that Ron was being a prat by ignoring Parvati's sister, Padma and complaining about Hermione going as Viktor Krum's date. The jealous redhead tried to compel Harry into taking his side, but the raven haired boy stayed on the sidelines. Ron's behaviour left Hermione in tears and Harry decided right away to be on her side, but he didn't know how to comfort her. Harry never understood girls because of his abusive treatment from his so-called relatives, the Dursleys. They almost invariably excluded him from family outings of any kind (especially Dudley's birthday). Hermione jumped to conclusions in her state of being upset and told Harry and Ron to head off to bed, but Harry walked outside instead in an attempt to clear his mind. He thought he heard somebody crying as he made it outside, but shrugged it off (believing it was just his imagination). When he heard the crying again, Harry decided to investigate and followed the noise. He saw that it was a girl wearing silver dress robes. She had dirty blonde hair and pale-white skin and her head was downcast, so Harry didn't yet know what eye colour the girl had.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" he asked.

"I-I think s-so," the girl sobbed, as she raised her head up and gave Harry direct eye contact. "I-I was ju-ust wa-aiting for my da-ate."

"Who was supposed to be your date?" asked Harry, who couldn't help but notice the girl's pale-silver eyes, even if they were full of tears.

"This Gryffindor with red hair," the girl started describing. "He also had freckles on his face, and dirt on his nose."

"That must've been Ron Weasley," said Harry, who couldn't help noticing the girl's dreamy-like voice. "When did he ask you to the Yule Ball?"

"A couple days after the Yule Ball was announced," the girl stated. "But he never came anywhere near me in the days before the ball. When I saw him having went with Padma, I left the Great Hall entrance and came out here. As hard as I tried, I still felt tears welling up in my eyes."

Harry was outraged even further that Ron stood up this girl sitting before him.

"That insensitive clod," Harry growled. "Why did he even ask you if he didn't intend to go with you?"

"That's what I want to know," said the girl downheartedly. "It seemed like somebody would finally see the real me, but now that seems to be a dream that doesn't seem likely to come true, Harry."

Harry didn't need to ask how this girl knew his name. This Boy Who Lived fame made it doubtless. Harry found hard to look at a girl who was crying, it broke his heart just seeing it. He already saw Hermione in tears earlier, but to just see something similar a second time made it worse for him.

"May I ask you who you are?" said Harry.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," said the girl, holding a hand out. "It's nice to meet you, Harry."

"It's nice to meet you too, Luna." said Harry as he started shaking her hand.

Harry also realized that Ron never told him he asked a girl out ahead of time. This made Harry angrier because his time was indirectly wasted when he managed to talk Padma into going with the youngest male Weasley. That was the final straw, Harry decided to end his friendship with Ron for good. Why he even befriended Ron in the first place, Harry couldn't find an answer to but right now, he didn't care. He was more interested in reviving Luna's spirits and making her night a happy one.

"Would you like to go to Yule Ball with me?" Harry asked Luna, after thinking it over for a minute.

"I'd love to, Harry," said Luna. "But, my eyes are still full of tears."

"What if we stayed out here?" Harry offered.

"Okay," said Luna, with a smile. "At least most of the students attending the ball are in the Great Hall. Out here, it'll just be you and me."

"Yeah, and it won't be crowded at all," said Harry. "No one will even bother coming here to pester us."

"Yes, and maybe that Ron will come to regret standing me up," said Luna. "Then again, maybe he won't."

So Harry and Luna took turns casting some warming charms where they were. Once they finished, Harry and Luna got ready to have their dance, even if they had to make it up as they went. Maybe dancing in the moonlight had some benefits after all. Harry quickly saw how good Luna was at dancing and the two had fun. He also saw that she was fun to be around, despite what the majority of the student body thought. Luna even found herself to be mesmerized by Harry's emerald-green eyes. It was definitely a night the teens were going to remember for the rest of their lives.

 _The End!_


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